5 SEO Tips for Beginner Photographers
So you are a photographer, you say?
Below I will detail 5 SEO tips for photographers in 2019, but first let us understand why you would want to do SEO for a photography website in the first place.
You take pictures of people so that they can show off their pictures to their friends and family. You also take pictures so that you can display pictures, as well; for fun or to make some sort of profit. More than likely, you have an online portfolio to market yourself.
In order to have your portfolio seen more often, then your goal is to rank your site as high as possible. The higher you rank, the better, because it is not often that potential clients will look past the first or second page.
I also think that you should be proud of your art that you present. You do not want to have your pictures lost on the web where no one will ever see them. This should be a huge reason why you invest in SEO for a photography website.
Not only do you have to edit your pictures for client, you also need your website to be edited and maximized for SEO for a photography website This way, search engines can crawl through your site and rank you higher than you have ever been. I will be sharing several SEO tips for photographers that can be used to maximize traffic to your site.
1. Which Search Engine to Use
Where do the majority of searches take place online? Which search engine is utilized the most? Google, duh! Yahoo used to be very popular but Google has definitely taken over as the main search engine that everyone uses. If you are going to maximize SEO, use Google.
So how does Google rank your page?
Basically, Google scans your website (i.e. title, meta description, images, etc.) and determines how important the information you are putting out in the internet space is compared to similar sites. Of course, every website cannot be on the first page, so Google has to rank the website based on the importance of the site.
For a more detailed explanation of the ranking process, check out Google’s website to learn a bit more about the mechanical aspect of ranking.
2. Use Video
Video is quickly becoming the top content marketing that Google loves the most. If Google loves it and encourages it, then you should be doing it as well.
Video is several photos that are rapidly shown in concession and you’ve already mastered photography. You could show behind the scene videos of photography sessions. This allows your fans and potential clients to get to know you better by getting a sneak peek into your every process.
Plus it is a bonus that Google will reward you for it as well. This is a great SEO hack to maximize ranking and traffic.
The use of video is extremely important in today's SEO strategies. I like how Search Engine Journal's article, 101Quick & Actionable SEO Tips, states that content is extremely important, backlinks is next in line as far as importance, and video is the spawn of the two.
In order for video to increase SEO for your photography website, the content on the video must relate to your brand and your photography.
You could create a video showcasing how you prepare setup prior to actually taking the first picture or you could create a tutorial video. Just make sure the video is relevant to your brand and the photography, itself.
3. Make Sure to Update Frequently
Google will also reward your site if you upload content frequently.
Being a photographer, photos are an integral part of your content you will be sharing. Your blog should be littered with location snapshots, candid photos, pre-edited phots, or some really cool concept photos.
You would want you social media platform to be sort of like an extension of your main blog. By posting frequently, Google will recognize the activity and rank you accordingly.
Also, your site will appear new and exciting for your current and new clients.
4. Pay Attention to the Little Details
When you are looking to maximize SEO for your photography website, you may tend to overlook the little things.
One thing that is often overlooked is making sure that your website is optimized for mobile use. With so many people using iPhones and Androids, you want to make sure that your pictures are optimized for mobile screens.
Also site speed of your site is optimized as well; Google can penalize you if upload speed is not up to par. PageSpeed Insights will help determine if your website load time is up to par and optimized for customer use.
Your links should all be working links; no dead links. Ensure that your pictures are not too big. Google does not like large pictures uploading on your sites.
For one it slows down the uploading speed, plus it does not scale well on mobile devices. Always test your site out prior to making it live.
5. Choose a Web Platform Ideal for Photography
There are a lot of platforms that can be used to show your work and they do a great job to showcase your portfolio, such as 500px and Behance.
There are some other platforms that allow you to, not only, display your portfolio but also allow you to create commentary along with it. So, instead of just looking post pictures; post text as well.
I know that you specialize in photos but you need to have text to go along with your visuals. In order for SEO for your photography website to work completely, you have to have text as well.
Choose WordPress or Squarespace for you place to establish your portfolio with text. These two platforms are great for SEO and they have quite a few options that are catered towards photography. These two platforms are far from being bare and plain, though if you are a minimalist, they have that covered as well.
From a SEO standpoint, it is better to couple your photos with text to better rank yourself. Plus it is great to describe what your photos or subjects to your fans.
Once you decide on which platform to use, the next thing for you to do is to build your photography online platform.